Go South - Building a New City Centre
Takes Money and Time

There are still tell-tale traces of the past. On either side of the partially completed highway tarmac lie small waterways and mounds of dirt covering old marshes. And adjacent to a brand new office complex is a small, muddy pond that surrounds a thatched-roof hut dotted with swaying palm trees.
But this is the site of Ho Chi Minh City's new future. "In place of this rural scene will be a modern city with modern infrastructure and all the comforts," says a spokesman for Phu My Hung Corporation, the developers of Saigon South. Located three kilometers south of the city's center, across the Tan Thuan Bridge, Saigon South is still mostly 3,300ha of undeveloped land. Running along the site is the newly-opened 17.8km stretch of Saigon South Parkway, which connects the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in the east to National Highway One in the west.

The developers have set out to create a new city centre in what's still pretty much a wilderness. Phu My Hung, a joint-venture company between the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and Taiwan's Central Trading and Development Group, has so far committed $242m to the development, which was approved in December 1994.

"Initially, we know many of those coming to Saigon South will be expatriates," says the group's spokesman. "But this development is designed for 500,000 people and we know there will not be that many expats in the city. Mainly, the city will be for the growing Vietnamese middle class."

Historic Plans
The idea of extending what was then Saigon to the south dates back to the 1920s, when the city's increasing economic importance led the French to consider future areas for expansion. But the direction of the initial expansion has always been a subject for lively debate. Surrounded by Tan Son Nhat airport, Highway One and the Saigon River, discussion has centred on expanding to the east, across the river, or to the south.

"Sooner or later, development will take place in all directions around Ho Chi Minh City," says Ton Si Kinh, director of the Southern Area of Ho Chi Minh City Development Authority. "We have a lot of land and our population of more than 5m is growing everyday. Developing only toward the south will not be enough to meet the future growth."

Not surprisingly, the developers of Saigon South argue that southward development should be the first priority. The city continues to discuss various proposals for bridges or for a tunnel to cross the Saigon River to Thu Thiem, the marshy river bend which lies directly across from the city centre. An American engineering study drawn up before 1975 called for four or five low-level drawbridges, permitting passage of the vital shipping traffic. Building a bridge high enough to allow ships of up to 20,000 tonnes to pass up the river would entail construction of long approach ramps, which would impinge on the neat city-scape of the old French city centre. Also under discussion is a tunnel, although the approaches could again endanger the urban environment in the centre of the city. The alternative is to go south. "Saigon South it is, until we have more money," says Mr. Kinh from the city's Development Authority.

Eager got a potentially lucrative contract to build a river crossing, foreign governments and consultants have been bombarding the city authorities with studies on the best way to cross the river to Thu Thiem. But having opted to go south, the city authorities and the developers also have to contend with the problems created by the economic downturn. "The impact will be great and immediate for the area," said Phan Chanh Duong , director of the Tan Thuan Industrial Development Corporation, Phu My Hung's joint-venture partner. "People want to see what's going to happen before they rush in to invest. We know this."

Under the joint-venture agreement, Phu My Hung will be responsible for letting and developing 750ha of the site, as well as developing overall land-use planning. The remaining 1,600ha will be developed by South Saigon Development Corporation (SADECO), a Vietnamese company whose shareholders comprises 15 of the city's construction and property development companies. Phu My Hung will develop 750ha. SADECO is still in the process of relocating and resettling residents in its area, while Phu My Hung has begun some of its projects, including the current two-lane Saigon South Parkway, officially called the North Nha Be-South Binh Chanh Parkway. Eventually, the roadway will have 10 lanes.

But despite the grand plans and the new road, Saigon South still has a long way to go. Currently, only one main building has been completed in the processed residential/commercial zone known as the New City Centre, housing three separate Vietnamese, American, and Japanese schools. Negotiations are under way with the Korean Consulate to set up a Korean School. Investment licences have been granted to a Japanese and a Taiwanese company for two apartment building in the area.

"We have big plans for Ho Chi Minh City," says Mr. Duong, who also chairs SADECO's Administrative Council. "And we want to build housing and businesses to reflect this growth and change. Saigon South will provide high rises, apartments, houses, schools and recreational centres to meet the changing needs." Not bad for a piece of land that started out as a swamp.

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